Imagine a time when robots are nearly autonomous. In this futuristic sci-fi world, four robots team up to start their own restaurant making a special type of noodle. They all worked together before the war, under contract with a large corporation that opened a series of restaurants, each of which was short-lived. The robots were abandoned when the last restaurant went out of business, but while they were working, they learned valuable skills.

"It’s both interesting and scary to read about a time when robots and humans are so interconnected."

AUTOMATIC NOODLE takes place after the end of a civil war in San Francisco when California breaks off from the United States and becomes its own country, several decades into the future. Robots are now a way of life, capable of doing many things. One was forced to fight in the military on the side of California. Robots can be considered slaves or possibly indentured servants. They were “set free” after the war, but that came with limits. They can't own property, and while they can make money, they can’t keep it in a bank.

This futuristic world hasn’t completely recovered from the war. There are plenty of infrastructure issues. People are trying to put their lives back together. They depend on robots, though many don’t completely trust them, even those that perform such important services as providing food. There are numerous obstacles in their path, and they may not be able to overcome them.

Annalee Newitz shows readers how the world might look in a few decades while offering insight into the art of making Biang Biang noodles. Throughout the story, the positives and negatives of social media are debated. And the interaction between humans and machines is shown in a completely different light than what we deal with in today’s world. It’s both interesting and scary to read about a time when robots and humans are so interconnected.